I rescued Miracle, now he's saved my child: The amazing story of a dog who refused to die

AMANDA Leask beams from ear to ear as the postman knocks on her door and hands over a pristine copy of her new book.

Amanda Leask has written a book about Miracle, her resiliant rescue dog

It tells the story of the animal she saved from Thailand’s illegal dog meat trade two years ago and the magical effect he has had on her family. Amanda admits that, eight years on, she could never have imagined that in saving Miracle, she would also be saving herself.

In December 2008, Amanda gave birth to twin boys, Kyle and Ty, 11 weeks early. Ty survived for just 26 hours while Kyle has cerebral palsy and autism and is so severely disabled that he is confined to a wheelchair and unable to talk.

But since Miracle arrived at the family home in Invernes-shire in April 2014, he has developed a special bond with the little boy, unlocking his world and bringing joy to Amanda, 46, and her husband Tobias, 40.

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The story began almost a year earlier when dog lover Amanda saw a photograph on Facebook of a truckload of dogs who’d been snatched from the streets of Thailand and were bound for the dinner tables of restaurants in Vietnam.

One of them could be clearly seen wedged between the bars of the truck, trying to make a desperate escape, and Amanda became determined to track the dog down and save him.

“The flash of the camera had caused him to open his eyes and I was just so drawn to him,” says Amanda. She and Tobias keep 49 dogs including huskies for their professional sled racing team, and other canines rescued from Romania.

“I contacted the photographer, a Thai lady I know of, who works selflessly to rescue dogs from the dog meat trade over there. “The truck had been intercepted by undercover officers from the Soi Dog Foundation, a charity that improves the lives of dogs and cats in Thailand, and she happened to be at the rescue shelter where they were then taken and took photos. “The shelter resembles a cattle pen with food troughs and vats of water but with around 3,000 dogs in there, death and disease were rife.

I asked her how the hell she would find the dog I felt so desperate to help. She told me that every time she went to the rescue shelter she would look for him. “I didn’t hold out much hope but incredibly eight weeks later she found him.”

It was then that Amanda coined his name, after exclaiming that it was a “miracle that he’s alive.” Emaciated, distressed and covered in lesions, Miracle then spent nine months in a Bangkok clinic until he was deemed well enough to travel.

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The book tells the story the animal she saved from Thailand’s illegal dog meat trade two years ago

In April 2014, volunteers accompanied him on a flight to Amsterdam then a ferry to Harwich where Amanda was waiting to take him home. “I was so nervous that I had butterflies, the way you would on a first date,” she recalls.

The flash of the camera had caused him to open his eyes and I was just so drawn to him

Amanda Leask

“I knew so much about this dog but what if he didn’t like me? “I needn’t have worried because when our eyes met it was as if there was telepathy between us, that he knew who I was.

“Still, I gave him space to come to me rather than risk frightening him by smothering him with hugs. Sure enough, on the overnight sleeper train to Edinburgh that night, he climbed onto the bed and lay across my chest.”

Miracle had never lived in a house before so when he arrived at Amanda’s home she was cautious and in no hurry to introduce him to Kyle until she had observed him for a few days.

“Very quickly he seemed curious about Kyle,” she explains. “Most of our dogs are good around him but some are far too energetic, trying to climb up and compete for his attention, which upsets him. Miracle wasn’t like that. He was instinctively gentle around him.

“Although Kyle can’t speak he makes sounds to indicate whether he’s happy, feels anxious or is about to have a meltdown, which Tobias and I communicate back to. I soon noticed that if Kyle made a particular noise, Miracle would leap off the couch and go to him, wagging his tail – Kyle has always found tail wagging really funny.

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Amanda says the dog got its name because it was incredible the pooch was still alive

“Increasingly he would lay close enough for Kyle to touch him and seemed to recognise that he is a very sensory boy and finds touch soothing.

“Now, if Kyle becomes upset by a situation, such as too many people invading his space, Miracle will go to him and let him grab the fur on the back of his neck for comfort, which instantly seems to calm him.

“One of the most heartwarming breakthroughs was when Kyle started looking into Miracle’s eyes, which is quite amazing as autistic children don’t do eye contact. Kyle has never held my gaze, but it’s different with the dog. You can almost see that they just both want to love each other.”

Small wonder that last year Miracle won the Crufts Friends For Life Award and the RSPCA Animal Hero Award. He is also a canine ambassador for the Soi Dog Foundation, whose famous supporters include Ricky Gervais.

Amanda adds: “It’s as if Miracle and Kyle are kindred spirits. Miracle waits for Kyle coming home from school and leaps about excitedly when he hears the specialised taxi pull up outside. But the moment Kyle comes through the door in his pram chair, Miracle is calm and gentle.”

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Miracle the book is now available to buy and sheds light on the rescue dog turned Crufts winner

Although most of Amanda’s dogs live outside in kennels they all get to spend time in a dedicated “dog room” in the house. Miracle, though, is free to roam indoors because of his devotion to Kyle.

Although most rescue dogs will eat anything, borne of a need to survive, Miracle is a discerning diner, turning his nose up at mackerel but doing anything for a sniff of hot smoked salmon. “He’s blossomed into such a happy dog and he’s unlocked something really special in Kyle,” adds Amanda.

“I’ve got a photo on my phone of him sleeping on the floor next to Kyle in his travel cot when we were staying in a hotel in Birmingham for Crufts. People melt when they see it. “Kyle always wants to hold Miracle’s lead, as if to let people know that it’s his doggy.

Even walking through the massive crowds at Crufts he wanted to. “So, I hold part of the lead and Kyle holds another bit, only he likes to then put it in his mouth the way Miracle would with a toy!

“I chose the name Miracle after discovering the dog was alive against all the odds, weeks after I’d first seen the photo of him hanging, terrified, out of the back of the truck in Thailand. “But he really has had a miraculous effect on our family, bringing magic to our lives thanks to his gorgeous bond with Kyle.”